The Padres made a huge move Thursday morning.
It is the first of what is expected to be many shockwaves before the 3 p.m. PT trade deadline, as the team tries to bolster its roster for a World Series run.
Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller began his trade deadline maneuvers by sending top prospect Leo De Vries and multiple pitching prospects to the Athletics for closer Mason Miller and starting pitcher JP Sears.
A source confirmed the pieces in the trade, which was first reported by ESPN.
The cost for Miller and Sears also included three right-handed pitchers — Henry Baez, Braden Nett and Eduarniel Nuñez. All three pitchers are among the Padres’ top 20 prospects. Nuñez, a reliever made his major league debut for the Padres this season. Nett and Baez were in Double-A San Antonio’s rotation.
The morning acquisition clears the way for the Padres to possibly trade closer Robert Suarez and/or starting pitcher Dylan Cease.
The Padres’ asking price for those pitchers remains high, and they might choose to keep one of them.
Moving Cease and/or Suarez would help clear payroll space so the team can add at least one position player, believed to be a right-handed-hitting outfielder. A source said Thursday morning the Padres are also still shopping for a starting pitcher to put near the top of their rotation.
There has been uncertainty about top starters Michael King, who is nearing a return after being out since mid-May with a nerve impingement in near his throwing his shoulder, and Yu Darvish, who on Wednesday threw seven shutout innings in his fifth start back from an elbow issue that sidelined him the season’s first three months.
So the Padres were always going to try to bolster their bullpen, which has been the biggest strength for a team that sits 11 games over .500 (60-49), three games up in the race for the final wild-card spot and three games behind the firrst-place Dodgers in the National League West.
It clearly was a priority, in that virtually every team they talked to about top targets asked for De Vries as part of the return.
The 26-year-old Miller was considered by some to be the unattainable prize of the trade deadline. But Preller went all in by spending his top prospect chip in De Vries, a shortstop ranked as high as the third overall prospect in baseball.
Miller has thrown more than twice as many pitches at 101 mph or faster than any pitcher in baseball. He has a 3.76 ERA but will bring a 10⅔-inning scoreless streak to San Diego.
Sears, a 29-year-old left-hander, has a 4.95 ERA in 22 starts.
Miller and Sears will cost the Padres a little more than $500,000 between them. Both will be arbitration eligible for the first time in 2026.
De Vries was long said by several people in the organization to be virtually untouchable. But that is a relative term with Preller, who has made a habit of sending away top prospects who might work out later in an effort to improve the major league roster immediately.
De Vries had to be in play, because the Preller was instructed to proceed however he saw fit but with the understanding there was virtually no payroll flexibility.
The Padres already have the ninth-highest payroll in MLB, with commitments of almost $225 million when factoring in CBT overage charges and player bonuses.
This article will be updated.